Research
Some of my recent published papers
RanDS: A Large-Scale Open Dataset of Raw Binaries and Extracted Features for Ransomware Research
Saleh Alzahrani, Yang Xiao, Sultan Asiri
Computers & Security
Date: 2026-03-25 | Volume: 167 | Pages: 104909 | DOI: 10.1016/j.cose.2026.104909
SPADR: A Context-Aware Pipeline for Privacy Risk Detection in Text Data
Sultan Asiri, Randa Alshehri, Fatima Kamran, Hend Laznam, Yang Xiao, Saleh Alzahrani
Electronics
Date: 2025-09-19 | Volume: 14 | DOI: 10.3390/electronics14183725
A Survey of Ransomware Detection Methods
Saleh Alzahrani; Yang Xiao; Sultan Asiri; Jianying Zheng; Tieshan Li
IEEE Access
Date: 2025-04-01 | Volume: 13 | Pages: 57943-57982 | DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3556187
RansomFormer: A Cross-Modal Transformer Architecture for Ransomware Detection via the Fusion of Byte and API Features
Saleh Alzahrani, Yang Xiao, Sultan Asiri, Naif Alasmari, Tieshan Li
Electronics
Date: 2025-03-25 | Volume: 14 | DOI: 10.3390/electronics14071245
Towards Improving Phishing Detection System Using Human in the Loop Deep Learning Model
Sultan Asiri, Yang Xiao, Saleh Alzahrani
Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Southeast Conference
Date: 2024-04-27 | Pages: 77–85 | DOI: 10.1145/3603287.3651193
PhishingRTDS: A Real-time Detection System for Phishing Attacks Using a Deep Learning Model
Sultan Asiri, Yang Xiao, Saleh Alzahrani, Tieshan Li
Computers & Security
Date: 2024-04-05 | Volume: 141 | Pages: 103843 | DOI: 10.1016/j.cose.2024.103843
Conti Ransomware Development Evaluation
Saleh Alzahrani, Yang Xiao, Sultan Asiri
Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Southeast Conference
Date: 2023-04-12 | Pages: 39-46 | DOI: 10.1145/3564746.3587004
A Survey of Intelligent Detection Designs of HTML URL Phishing Attacks
Sultan Asiri, Yang Xiao, Saleh Alzahrani, Shuhui Li, Tieshan Li
IEEE Access
Date: 2023-01-18 | Volume: 11 | Pages: 6421-6443 | DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3237798
An Analysis of Conti Ransomware Leaked Source Codes
Saleh Alzahrani, Yang Xiao, Wei Sun
IEEE Access
Date: 2022-09-19 | Volume: 10 | Pages: 100178-100193 | DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3207757
An Optimized Design of Antenna Arrays for the Smart Antenna Systems
Fahd N Al-Wesabi, Murad AA Almekhlafi, Huda G Iskandar, Adnan Zain, Saleh Alzahrani, Mohammed Alamgeer, Nadhem Nemri, Sami Dhabi, Mohammad Medani, Ali M Al-Sharafi
Computers, Materials & Continua
Date: 2021-07-21 | Volume: 69 | Pages: 1979-1994 | DOI: 10.32604/cmc.2021.018390
Arabic Feature-Based Text Watermarking Technique for Sensitive Detecting Tampering Attack
Fahd N Al-Wesabi, Huda G Iskandar, Saleh Alzahrani, Abdelzahir Abdelmaboud, Mohammed Abdul, Nadhem Nemri, Mohammad Medani, Mohammed Y Alghamdi
Computers, Materials & Continua
Date: 2021-05-06 | Volume: 68 | Pages: 3789-3806 | DOI: 10.32604/cmc.2021.017674
A Reliable NLP Scheme for English Text Watermarking Based on Contents Interrelationship
Fahd N Al-Wesabi, Saleh Alzahrani, Fuad Alyarimi, Mohammed Abdul, Nadhem Nemri, Mohammed M Almazah
Computers, Materials & Continua
Date: 2021-03-08 | Volume: 37 | Pages: 297-311 | DOI: 10.32604/csse.2021.015915
Conferences
Participation as a speaker or attendee in various conferences
ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2025)
Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA
April 24–26, 2025
Program Committee Member
ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2024)
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, Georgia, USA
April 18–20, 2024
Program Committee Member
ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2024)
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, Georgia, USA
April 18–20, 2024
Presented the paper “Towards Improving Phishing Detection System Using Human in the Loop Deep Learning Model”
Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2023)
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
December 10–16, 2023
Attendee
ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2023)
Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky, USA
April 12–14, 2023
Presented the full paper “Conti Ransomware Development Evaluation”
Fourth Tehama Annual Scientific Forum
King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
February 10–12, 2021
Chair, Computer Science Session
Third Tehama Annual Scientific Forum
King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
March 13–14, 2019
Attendee
International Conference on Big Data and Education (ICBDE 2018)
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
March 9–11, 2018
Attendee
St. Mary’s Computer Science Symposium
St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, USA
December 1, 2017
Presented “Fun English Learning Games,” an educational game developed by our student team
Experience
Snapshot of my past roles and responsibilities
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Teach undergraduate courses in programming, information systems, data structures, and algorithms. Conduct research in cybersecurity, ransomware analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning while supporting academic and administrative activities.
October 27, 2021 – Present
Head, Department of Information Systems
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Served concurrently as Head of the Information Systems and Computer Science Departments. Coordinated academic and administrative work while teaching programming and information systems courses in both departments.
September 29, 2020 – February 19, 2021
Consultant, Information Technology Department
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Contributed to the development of the King Khalid University mobile application and chatbot system. Provided software development and technical consulting support for university projects.
May 3, 2020 – April 21, 2021
Head, Department of Computer Science
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Managed the department’s academic and administrative activities while continuing to teach programming courses. Coordinated departmental matters and supported faculty members and students.
August 27, 2018 – August 19, 2021
Teaching Assistant
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Taught Introduction to Computing, C++ and Java programming, Introduction to Information Systems, and Data Structures and Algorithms.
September 25, 2014 – October 26, 2021
Teacher
Al-Khalij National School, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Left the position to complete studies at King Khalid University.
October 2010 – February 2011
Information Systems Trainee
Al-Mustaqbal Secondary School, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Completed information systems training and assigned office work.
February 2010 – June 2010
Academic Committee Memberships
Committee service within academic departments
Development and Quality Committee
Departments of Computer Science and Information Systems
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
August 2020
Development and Quality Committee
Departments of Computer Science and Information Systems
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
August 2019
Personal Interview Committee for Teaching Assistant Position, Female Section
Department of Computer Science
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
September 2018
Professional Development
Training, certificates, and development activities
An Introduction to Ethical Publishing Behavior; Good Citation Behavior, Co-reviewing with a Mentor
Web of Science Academy, Clarivate
May 7, 2024
Measuring Learning Outcomes and Providing Technical Support for Assessment and Quality Issues
Three-hour training course, King Khalid University, Community College, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
December 2020
Scientific Meeting: Scientific Research and Its Role in Development
Organized by the Vice Deanship for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
November 2020
Community Health Volunteering Training Program
Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, Saudi Arabia
May 5, 2020
How to Protect Your Data in the Era of Cyberattacks
General Administration of Cybersecurity, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
March 2020
Saudi Codes Ambassadors
Online training course on the Saudi Codes platform, Misk Foundation initiative, in partnership with Saudi Telecom Company and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia
February 28, 2019
DevRel MENA Study Jams / TOT
Google Cloud, Flutter, and Machine Learning training, delivered by Google Cloud Developers Community Saudi Arabia as part of the Digital Giving initiative, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, held at King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
January 16, 2019
The Role of Educational Institutions in Achieving Intellectual Security
King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia. Presented by Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Halil, Advisor on National Issues and Intellectual Security at the Ministry of Interior
November 2018
Introduction to iOS 11 Development: Swift 4 and Xcode 9
3.5-hour online course, Udemy
April 2018
Ethical Leadership Certificate Program
NASBA Center for the Public Trust
October 2017
Build Ajax Web Apps with Laravel 5.2, Bootstrap and jQuery
Online course, Udemy
May 2016
SPSS Training
Two-day, 6-hour program, King Khalid University, Academic Development and Quality Deanship, Abha, Saudi Arabia
March 2016
The Art of Dealing with People
Five-hour training program, Bina Al-Ajyal Center, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
June 2010
Training and Workshops Delivered
Workshops and training courses I developed or delivered
Developing Mobile Applications Using Flutter
Three-hour training course, delivered via Zoom, with 300 attendees, as part of the World of Ideas program, organized by the Vice Deanship of Student Affairs in Tehama, King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
March 3, 2021
Developing Android and iOS Applications Using Flutter
Two-day workshop, organized by the Information Systems Department, King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
February 20 and 27, 2019
Fundamentals of Internet Technology with PHP and MySQL Demo
Two-day workshop, organized by the Information Systems Department, in cooperation with the Vice Deanship of Student Affairs in Tehama, King Khalid University, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
April 12–13, 2016
Honors and Awards
Academic recognition and awards
2026 Computer Science Outstanding Graduate Research Award
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
Presented by Dr. Shahram Rahimi, Head of the Department of Computer Science, during the Computer Science Honors Day celebration in recognition of publishing eight research papers, five as first author.
March 31, 2026
Certificate of Thanks and Appreciation
King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Awarded by Prof. Mohammed Albahiri, Vice Rector, in recognition of contributions to King Khalid University during the 2019–2020 academic year.
April 28, 2020
Distinguished Graduate
St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, USA
May 9, 2018
Selected for membership in National Society of Leadership and Success
St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, USA
August 23, 2017
Certificate of Appreciation
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
Recognized by the Information Systems Department for outstanding and effective efforts that contributed to the success of the department plan during the 1436–1437 academic year.
May 25, 2016
First-Class Honors
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
January 16, 2014
Education
A continuous journey of learning
Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
GPA: 3.929 / 4.00
Research focus: Malware Analysis and Detection Using AI
Adviser: Dr. Yang Xiao
Dissertation: Understanding Ransomware and Enhancing Their Detection Using Machine Learning
August 23, 2021 – May 2, 2026
Master of Science in Computer Information Systems
Bachelor’s in Information Systems
King Khalid University, College of Science and Arts, Muhayil Asir, Saudi Arabia
GPA: 4.77 / 5.00
February 12, 2011 – January 16, 2014
Diploma in Information Systems
King Khalid University, Community College, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia
GPA: 4.69 / 5.00
September 8, 2007 – June 30, 2010
Peer-Review Service
Academic journals for which I have reviewed manuscripts
Projects
Some apps that I either programmed entirely or was part of the programming team
First To Tweet
Home Cooking
My KKU
KKU Student Guide
